Colt Ford is on the lineup for the third annual Runaway Country Space Coast Music Festival March 22-24 at Wickham Park in Melbourne.

Written by

Mike Nunez

For FLORIDA TODAY

Colt Ford is on the lineup for the third annual Runaway Country Space Coast Music Festival March 22-24 at Wickham Park in Melbourne.

THE DETAILS

WHAT: Third annual Runaway Country Space Coast Music Festival

WHEN: March 22-24

WHERE: Wickham Park, 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne

COST: General admission is $69 for a single-day ticket, $119 for a three-day weekend pass and free for children 12 and younger accompanied by a paying adult. Reserved seating tickets are $99 for single-day and $249 and $279 for three-day weekend pass. Parking is $10 a day or $25 for a weekend pass. VIP parking is $20 or $50.

COST: General admission is $69 for a single-day ticket, $119 for a three-day weekend pass and free for children 12 and younger accompanied by a paying adult. Reserved seating tickets are $99 for single-day and $249 and $279 for three-day weekend pass. Parking is $10 a day or $25 for a weekend pass. VIP parking is $20 or $50.

THE STORY: While the Runaway Country Space Coast Music Festival will feature a diverse mix of country music stars, perhaps one of the most unique to take the stage will be the hip-hop infused style of Colt Ford. A blend of country, hip-hop, rap and rock, Ford truly has a style that is all his own. The festival is March 22-24 in Melbourne.

A former professional golfer, Ford turned in his golf clubs for guitars and microphones and has gone on to sell millions of records. His recent album, “Declaration of Independence,” made its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts.

QUESTION: You are getting ready to go on an international tour. Are you nervous about how your newer music will be accepted by an international audience?

ANSWER: Not really, because my last record debuted at No. 1 on the country charts there, so I’m not nervous about that. ... the record debuted at No. 1 in Canada and Australia, which goes to show you there are country folks everywhere.

Q: How did you make the transition from professional golfer to a country music star?

A: I was a golfer for a very long time and country music is just something I always wanted to dedicate my life to and decided to give it one more try. A lot of people thought I was crazy at first, and I am both glad and blessed that I didn’t listen to the folks who said it couldn’t be done.

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Q: Country music fans tend to be more loyal than any other genre of music. Why do you think country music audiences are so different?

A: It is how you are raised and the values that you have. I think a lot of country music fans are just brought up to be good folks who believe if you are good to others, they’ll be good to you. They feel the music and they recognize the honesty in the words. I think that is just the type of people the country music fans are.

Q: Why is the song “Back” so personal to you?

A: Because that song is my real life and about my good buddy that passed away. It is 100 percent real. I mean the things I say in that song. It talks about things that make you appreciate the ones you love and things that one day will mark the saddest days of my life.

Q: When you write or co-write a song that becomes an international hit, do you ever have that feeling like, “I should have kept that one for myself?”

A: Not really. “Dirt Road Anthem” was a song I did on my record back in 2008 and was a huge success for me with thousands of downloads even before Jason (Aldean) recorded it. Jason was able to take that song to new heightsand got the song radio success that my version didn’t get... As an artist, you just want your songs to be heard and enjoyedand that is what is most important. I consider it a huge honor and a blessing that Jason was able to do so much with that song, and I am humbled by its success.

Q: You clearly have a lot of rap and hip-hop influences. When you first approached the idea of infusing those characteristics into your music, did you have resistance?

A: All the time. People sometimes say that now. The bottom line is that rap or the spoken word was in country before I was even born. If you go back to C.W. McCall and his songs and “Convoy” it was the same thing. I just try and put my own twist on things, because as an artist you have to bring your own style. I think the resistance I get these days, if any, is from people not willing to give it a chance or who feel that those influences aren’t really country music. I think that country is determined by the content of the song.

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Q: Have you ever been mistaken for another celebrity?

A: Not really, but recently someone told me they thought I was Chumlee from the TV show “Pawn Stars.”Now that I’ve let my hair grow out I look a little like John Anderson did 20 years ago. We just redid the song “Swinging” for a movie soundtrack, and I had the pleasure of recording it with him, so it was kind of strange that I look like he used to. (laughing). You know, I guess there are many country guys this good looking!

Q: What’s been the most challenging part of stardom?

A: Just trying to manage my time. I used to have too much time on my hands and now I have too many hands on my time. For some artists, it’s the fan interaction that scares them, but for me, if someone wants to stop and talk to me or get a picture taken with me, I consider it such a huge honor. The fans are great and without them I would be no one. Because of them (the fans) I don’t have to go out and work a real job for a living, so I am thankful and I love meeting people. The time management is tough because there are so many demands on my time these days.

Q: After the tour, what plans do you have?

A: I play over 200 shows a year, so I don’t really ever have “down time.” I’m gone all the time, so I don’t know any different. I will probably keep doing that until someone tells me I can’t do it anymore!

If you have an artist/band you’d like to recommend for review, contact Nunez at srkmusic@cfl.rr.com.

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